


He's the Eye of Her Storm

by Melizabeth_Is_Kismet



Category: Wizards of Waverly Place
Genre: Alex gets her powers, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Fluff, Gen, Jalex if you squint - Freeform, Sibling Bonding
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-20
Updated: 2018-03-20
Packaged: 2019-04-05 08:05:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,882
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14039838
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Melizabeth_Is_Kismet/pseuds/Melizabeth_Is_Kismet
Summary: Alex comes into her powers and goes through the troublesome beginning stages of being a wizard with her older brother, Justin, at her side for it all.





	He's the Eye of Her Storm

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: I don't own Wizards of Waverly Place. I simply own this story.
> 
> I've never written for this fandom, so I hope things aren't too out of character. I haven't seen the series in a while so I'm sure a lot in this out of placed or had a better explanation in the show, so just chalk it up to being an AU. I just had this random idea I felt I had to write and I hope it's received well.

**-He's the Eye of Her Storm-  
**

_"How can you be so sure?"_

_"Because. It's you and I."_

Flares of orange, sparks of gold, and a dusting of blue seem to swirl and meld creating a blanket of comfort around her. The voice, a low timbre that toasted her insides in a pleasant way, merely adds to the strange ease that envelops her. The experience is a strange one—a flood of sensations and images that weigh on her conscience the way a lifetime weighs on one's shoulders (or in this case her shoulders). So when it's over, the faint wisp of a fizz in the air and someone's voice calling out for her, leave a faint dazed layer to her warm chocolate eyes.

"What... was that?" Her lips move just enough for her groggy tone to register.

"Alex! Get up, mija! Breakfast is ready!"

Alex grunts, eyes squeezing closed as she rolls over to bury her face into the messy locks of coffee brown strewn across her pillow. A moan of dismay rumbles from her throat as she begins to drag herself from the bed, spitting tresses from her mouth as she goes. "Great. So on top of a dream I can't even begin to remember I'm going to have bed head that'll rival the living dead. Way to go Alex."

~*~

After taming the beast that resided on her head into a more docile ponytail, Alex makes it downstairs to find one of her family members missing from the table, his plate already scraped clean. Lips curving up in a decidedly wicked fashion, she breezes quietly by her older brother making sure to tap his left shoulder as she sits on his right. As predicted he looks to the left and with a quick swipe of her hand, she snags a piece of the yummy bacon on his plate. Mid bite she chirps, "Morning mom and dad!"

A chorus of, "Morning sweetie!" tugs his head back in her direction and Alex's posture loosens as a cat would when waiting for its prey to take the bait.

And spring he does when he notices her munching quite happily on the crispy bacon. His blue eyes brushed with a delicate layer of silver widen to an almost comical degree as they flit between his plate and her mouth. Splutters of astonishment leave him so fast building up to an epic squawk of, _"Alex!"_

Hiding her grin—oh who is she kidding, she takes pride in these moments. Her grin is as wide as the grand canyon—Alex feigns a demure, "Yes, Justin?" while turning to the sweet wafting pancakes and mouthwatering bacon and eggs on her plate before her.

"You stole my bacon!"

"And?" She draws it out over a mouthful, quirking an eyebrow at his narrowed eyes trying to figure out how it's her problem.

Justin glares like a cloud rolled over his mood and turns to their dad who talks with their mom with the calmness of this being a normal occurrence—because it is. "Dad, Alex took my bacon without permission!"  

Alex snorts into her orange juice as his voice cracks from pure agitation.

Their father stops mid sentence and turns a stern look in Justin's direction. "Let your sister eat. She's a growing girl."

Alex feels a bubble of satisfaction swell in her at the way Justin gapes at their father and she uses the opportunity to snag his last piece of bacon to complete her breakfast.  

His face twists into heated annoyance as his fingers curl around the edge of the table, his eyes burning with embers of frustration in her direction. "And I'm a growing boy—I mean man!" He puffs out his chest for emphasis.

Alex leans back with her laugh, the sound boisterous and mocking as she delights in pointing out the obvious to the thirteen year old, "Tell that to your squeaking voice, _'man'_ "  

He pushes up from his seat with a huff in her direction. "Whatever. I have some studying to do that doesn't involve arguing with children."

The peppy sensation that comes with taunting and tormenting her brother diminishes at the haughty way he holds himself above her, allowing the confusion and tinge of electricity in the air from earlier to be remembered, which only serves to darken her mood further—the past is supposed to remain there and forgotten, duh. So seeing him turn his back to her forms a weird stirring within almost reminiscent of the growing winds before a storm. "Studying at the beginning of summer? Way to make yourself even more of a dork." Her voice comes out coiled and tight almost as if her body's waiting to strike.  

Justin spins to face her, eyes crinkled at the edges with smugness as if she were the one to walk into his trap and Alex is certain her fingers flex, then curl.

Her fingertips go numb and Justin shrieks like a little girl.

It's obvious the reason why when he hops around erratically wild eyed as he screams for help. Fire curls from the seat of his pants burning a determined path to his skin. Alex's heart just about lurches from her chest in fright as the wind is knocked out of her lungs from the sight.  

Their mom leaps into action grasping the half full pitcher of orange juice followed second by their father. Alex can merely watch, knees wobbly as her mother douses the flames with a well aimed toss. The pressure that was building within the room seems to dispel under their mom's concerned examination of her precious mijo and the steady squeeze of their father's hands on Justin's shoulders, their parents' voices washing over Justin the way any parents would after seeing their child on fire. That's what she believes at first until it occurs to her that the pressure simply sunk under her skin, making knots of her stomach and a frail beat of her heart as she begins to sniffle.

Only one set of eyes locks onto her at the noise and she doesn't waste a moment longer. Alex slips between their parents with ease so she can loop her arms around her brother and press her forehead to the cradle of his neck and shoulder with a rattled breath. "Are you okay? What happened?!" God she hates sounding so... delicate. But seeing her brother so close to danger churned her insides horribly.

His arms come around her tight and familiar, hands rubbing out the fear from her system with a soothing touch along her spine and shoulder blades. The smell of citrus, pine, and something she distinguishes as robots, hard work, and knowledge—or just plain Justin—dissolve what's left of her worries. Muscles loosened and fingertips tingling at his back, Alex notices the silence that hangs in the room like a gaudy decoration.  

"I'm, uh, fine, Alex. Just a bit... tender." Justin finally answers in a stilted way that sounds off. A warning in her mind. He's not necessarily lying, but he's keeping something from her.

"Alex..." The somber address of their father is what draws her from her brother's embrace. She meets the familiar shade of silvery blue passed on to her brother then the gooey brown warmth of her mother's, both parents mirroring a seriousness that Alex was hoping not to encounter until at least mid summer. Something tells her that whatever comes out of her father's mouth won't be something she can prepare herself for despite latching onto Justin's hand behind her.  

She likes to later believe the pulse between their hands helped some.

~*~

A wizard.

_She's a wizard._

Scratch that. Her whole family on her father's side has magic in their veins—or at least most of them did at some point, but she doesn't focus on that part just yet.  

 _Magic_ . The stuff of fairy tales is _real_. And she can't be more thrilled. At least at first. Once it was explained that magic required studying to truly master, well the thrill was dulled just a smidge. That and the fact that she has to wear this stupid floppy wizard's hat until her powers are more under her control.  

Crossing her arms as she sinks deep into a corner booth of her family's Sub Station below their house while her younger brother Max pesters her about it, she decides she's not venturing outside the establishment until the hat comes off.  

"Come on! It's so cool! Justin didn't let me wear his when he had his!" Max whines as his brown gaze holds an excitement for the hideous attire that borders on excessive.

Justin strides by with a tray piled with food and drinks, a crooked grin sliding across his face as he eyes her and Max. He pauses mid stride to start off a horribly familiar tune. “What’s that? A hat?”

Alex leans over the table with a fierce glower, cutting him off, “Oh, don’t get me started.”

He rolls his eyes and continues on his way while she reclines back in her seat. The tables have been turned and Justin singing that song makes that crystal clear. Alex hates to say it, but she pouts at the unfairness of it all. Of course Justin being the good, perfect, never sticks his toe out of line person that he is isn't nearly as devious as she in making her feel miserable about wearing the hat as she did when he had to. He had the misfortune of wearing his during school and Alex had fun finding ways to draw attention to his wardrobe choice. Only now does she know it wasn't really a choice but a punishment of sorts—or it feels like one.

Anyway the past is in the past where it should stay and she can't really make up for prime humiliation material now can she? At least she can sit here while Justin does all the work and Max buses tables for her with the promise to touch the hat.  

A series of flashes more aggressive than those around a celebrity shatter any illusion she has of having a peaceful shift. Her eyes flick briefly to spy the annoying blonde leader with her gaggle of minions before Alex sinks below the table mimicking a boat with holes blown right through it. Alex presses her forehead into her palm, the picture of misery as she wonders what Gigi finds so fascinating about this hat that should belong to Merlin when the sight of the redhead, Harper, dressed in donuts doesn't garner a second look. But then again Harper's fashion sense has all but lost its shock value and the self appointed "Queen Bee" has always looked for ways to one up Alex, so she shouldn't be too surprised...

Letting out a long withering sigh, Alex listens to the mocking giggles fade away as she decides that leaving her house until the hat comes off won't even be an option.

~*~

_"I love you."_

_"I know... I love you more though."_

She gets a sense of familiarity in those words like looking into a mirror, albeit an older, maturer mirror, but still. And then there's that sense of misplacement, like she should know something but the work it would take to figure it out isn't really worth it. Alex feels every inch of her skin prickle and the air shift just as her eyes open.

It only takes a moment for her muddled mind to notice the details of her ceiling only a few inches from her face. That's when the air goes still and she plummets with a yelp that bounces off the walls. Her stomach swoops for a split second before her mattress springs under her weight, catching her before she can think of all the ways her bones could've cracked or shattered had she been anywhere else.

Expelling the worried air from her lungs, Alex peeks through her messy tangle of tresses to the glowing red numbers on her clock reading _12:08_ before sweeping to the frumpy hat right beside it with a grumble. So that's what happens when she doesn't tether the thing to her head while she sleeps.

Snatching it with agitation she forces it onto her head, then flops back over to return to sleep, dream long forgotten.

~*~

Three months. That's certainly a lot of time to become friendly with that old hat. But after a long boring summer—excluding her time stealing Justin's Bobwood Sherlock dolls and pretending like they were being held for ransom (that was a good time and a boost in her future spending)—her father had deemed her ready to part with Merlin's hand-me-down.

School started a month ago and from the look of Justin's raven locks buried in a book at one of the empty tables, she's not missing much. The Sub Station is closed early because their dad wanted to get started on her magic lessons. Her lips pinch briefly at the word "lessons", but otherwise a giddy grin sweeps across her lips at finally being able to use magic. Already she can feel the buzz at her fingertips and a rolling of sparks along her insides just waiting to be used. But first things first.

Striding quietly past Justin she taps his right shoulder then reaches to grab the sandwich on his left side. Her eyes widen when his fingers encircle hers halting her stealthy lift of his food. She absorbs the interesting thrum between their fingers for a moment before yanking her hand back and crossing her arms, meeting his cocky gaze head on. "Finally caught on, have you?"

Justin takes on that superior no it all tone that makes her eye twitch. "It wasn't hard. Your power is practically pouring from you, Alex. It's like being next to a thunderstorm."

"Ha. Ha." Her voice goes flat just before she snags his sandwich, plate and all, and begins a casual retreat to the freezer where their dad told her to meet him oddly enough.

_"Hey!"_

The indignant cry is followed by footsteps tripping in their haste to chase behind her. Cackling around a bite, Alex sees their dad's face creased with impatience right outside the freezer door. Well it's possible she may be half an hour late.

"Good you're here.” A pause and a slow look over her brother. “Justin? I didn't know you were attending this too."  

Justin brushes against her side looking frazzled as unintelligible nonsense rockets from his lips. When she merely cocks an eyebrow he grumbles in weak acceptance, shoulders slumping.

Their dad claps his hands tighter. "All right! I've been wanting to show this to another Russo for a while now!"

The giddy spring in her dad's voice stirs her confusion. "The freezer?"

Their dad grabs the handle and Alex swears their a brief charge that goes through the air. "Not just the freezer. This is also the Lair where your wizard lesson will take place from now on."

Instead of the rush of icy air that usually greets them when the freezer is opened, the scent of old paper and worn ink fill her nose like walking into an ancient library or something. She doesn't even realize her feet are taking her forward until the decor bleeds into her vision and it surprises her how intrigued with it she is. Strange baubles, skulls, and colorful liquids are organized around the room. The colors are dark yet lively and breathe life into the charm of the area. That and the current of magic that seems to live in the very air.

Since her dad first told her she was a wizard, Alex feels yet again the rush of impossibility become attainable at the tips of her fingers.

She finally drags her gaze to her dad’s where joy crinkles the edges there at her reaction to the room. She recalls what the place is called and a touch of mischievousness graces her smile. "Am I missing a Batman reference here?" It's then she notices the absence of weight in her hands and turns to find Justin sitting at a wood table, polishing off her (stolen) sandwich, the sneak. She lets it go only because he looks so satisfied with his small victory—he has so few.

"Uh, no Alex. This has nothing to do with Batman's secret lair," their dad clarifies as he picks up a long thin wooden box and walks over to her side with a twinkle in his eyes. "Every wizard family has a lair just like every young wizard has a training wand."

"Nice segue, dad." The mirth in Justin's eyes bubbles up in a chuckle their dad shares.

Alex looks between them with furrowed brows before she shakes her hands to swipe the confusion from the air. "Hold on, hold on! ...What's seg way have to do with wands?"

She expects annoyance to flash across Justin's face, but instead a pinch of exasperation flares briefly while a warmth nestles deep in his eyes causing their color to brighten. Alex looks away with a hitch in her throat wondering what that emotion could be.

"Nevermind that," their dad brings the box right before her and a buzzing begins to fill her veins at the proximity to it. "To receive your wand, I want you to run your finger down the length of this box and say: _For my wand to be, draw power from me."_

Alex swallows and notices a squirming sensation in her stomach and, even weirder, her hands start to shake. She looks to the excitement flooding her dad's eyes to Justin who’d come to her side without a sound and suddenly feels like a well of support she can draw from. Realization jabs her in the chest. _Nervousness_ is what’s causing her to pause. She almost howls in laughter at the ridiculousness.

_Alex Russo does not become nervous._

And just to prove it, she raises her pointer finger to the top of the wood with an outward confidence that would put a seasoned thief's to shame. _"For my wand to be, draw power from me."_

The tingling in her finger grows to an intense numbness that saps her breath for a moment. A kaleidoscope of colors flash at the seam of the box, the very air seeming to whirl in all of a second. Then everything goes still. Her heart thumps in her chest as her dad smiles with pride at her, something usually reserved for Justin. She'd normally rub such an achievement in if Justin's hand weren't warm on her shoulder, just as pleased with her as their dad. She hasn't had this much positive reception in a long time, so she plans to soak it up while she can.

And then her dad opens the box.

Whenever Alex thought of wands, she thought of those bland black sticks witches use in those old movies she sometimes convinces Justin to sit with her and watch with a bowl of popcorn while she makes fun of them. This wand meant just for her is something ripped right out of her imagination, suited well for her tastes. It's a chic scarlet and sheeny with a clear orb topping it that seems to draw in all the light and reflect it in a gentle shimmer. Amethyst gems circle just below the orb where a band of gold rests. It's beautiful. It's _her_.

"Oh, dad, this is perfect!" She squeals while reaching to lift her wand from the cushioned burgundy velvet. There's an instant sear against her palms as it forms a connection tugging every nerve in her body to attention, only to cool a second later like that of a smooth hollow rod. The sensations baffles her—who knew wands could feel so alive?—that she almost misses her dad's response.

"I should've known your wand's wood would be made from the twin or brother—"

At her dry look he begins to scramble for a different word.

"Err...sister? Sibling?" His eyes flicking between Justin and her as his hand flails in hopes that they’ll pick.

"We get it!" She and Justin exclaim in synch hoping to get to the point.

Their dad closes his mouth for a moment as he reorders himself. Then fixes her with a look as he begins to drag out his words in that way that shows he's long come to accept something. "Right. So that means, Alex, that with your wand, you'd make a prime adversary to Justin."  

Rotating slowly to face her brother, she fingers the orb on the top of her wand with a growing smirk. "Oh really?" Instead of returning her challenge though, she notices a crease beside his mouth and wheels turning in his head like she knows he wants to say something, but he's restraining himself from doing so.  

Holding his gaze for a breath longer, she twists her voice into something between curious and accusation. "So where's your wand then?"

Justin snaps out whatever weird thoughts had ahold of him as a bright smile lightens his face. Reaching into his back pocket he retrieves what Alex can only describe as a smooth, plain stick. "This is my wand. It's highly sophisticated, made with a— _Hey!"_

She snatches it from him to make sure it is in fact not a stick while interrupting what was sure to be a long boring description on the minute details that make up his wand. It's long, brown, and looks like it was plucked right from a tree only smoothed or maybe waxed so that it could be handled. When a faint shifting just under her skin makes itself known from the constant contact, Alex tosses it haphazardly to him and watches him flail about with a yelp as he catches it. "Lame."

Justin shoots her a scathing look which she ignores when turning back to their dad with a slight bounce. "Okay so when can when start this magic thingy?"

Her dad sets his features in a firm act of resistance as he carefully removes the wand from her hold and places it back in the box it came in despite her shout of protest. "Wand lessons won't begin until you get the hang of beginners hand magic."

"But—!"

"And that's final."  

Alex burns a pleading stare into her dad's eyes hoping to find a crack in his defenses that she can exploit like always. But there's oddly nothing, like smooth stone. She makes a note to herself that magic is something her dad is apparently strict about. Brimming with outrage she needs to expel, she turns to the best source for doing so. Justin doesn't even flinch. "Why does he get to have his wand then?"

"Justin is two years ahead of you. He's studied diligently and at this point is more than responsible to handle his wand." Her dad explains in a placating tone that merely makes her grit her teeth.

"Of course. _Perfect Justin_ excels at everything," she sneers lowly, never taking her eyes from her brother's.

Justin stands his ground eyes meeting her own. She might not have picked it up had they not been standing so close, the way his spirit drains dulling his eyes more to a grey like her words were the whip that tore through the barrier keeping it all in. "Everyone has to start from somewhere, Alex," he tells her softly, still bestowing some form of knowledge to her, still _giving_ , even though she's far from deserving.

"Justin's right! I have an easy spell you can practice. Your very first spell! Doesn't that should great?" Their dad cuts in lightly allowing Alex to turn away and wrap an arm around her torso because of a draft—not at all because it feels like her insides are shaken from the dejected look in Justin's eyes.

"Yeah. Great."

Their dad not being able to detect the change in the air holds out his hand for her to see and rotates it so his fingers wind inwards while instructing carefully, "Move your hand just like this while saying: _Give me sight, appear to me light._ Make sure you concentrate on the magic within and force it to your hand, okay?"

 _That should be easy enough_ , she decides and something she can focus her mind on besides Justin's feelings. Extending her right hand, she jerks at the sudden resounding clang of the freezer door shutting behind her announcing Justin's departure. Her mind goes blank as she stares fruitlessly at her palm as if it can fix the sudden gnawing feeling inside her.  

_He... left?_

Her dad stares at her expectantly and Alex forms the words with all the concentration she can muster: Zilch. Though that's not exactly true. It's just being spent on someone not even there anymore.

_"Give me sight, appear to me light."_

Her palm remains empty of anything extraordinary.

Her dad doesn't look discouraged. "That's fine, just give it another go."

Her hand twirls while she chucks the words with force, _"Give me sight, appear to me light_. _"_ Nothing. No response inside or out.

Now her dad's brow creases. "Alex are you concentrating?"

She scoffs. "Yes!"

He raises an eyebrow.

So she amends, "No. Maybe?"

"Try harder," he orders voice stem.

And so she does, over and over, until an hour goes by and her dad calls it quits for the day. "Keep practicing on your own—out of sight of course—and we'll meet back here to see where you are Thursday. You have so much potential, Alex. You've just got to learn to tap into it." He pats her shoulder before leaving.

Alex stands for a moment, eyes locked on the spot Justin sat eating his sandwich as her fingers curl tightly.

_He left._

~*~

It didn't take long for Alex to make a plan of action. Not that it was so much of a plan as she marches up the spiral stairs with the fury of a tempest, bypassing her mom frantically cleaning Max of a mysterious green goop, until she reaches the room beside her own. Barging in without a knock she kicks it shut behind her with the heel of her boot, finding her target seated at his desk textbooks neatly in order and wand twirling like a drum stick in hand.

Justin jumps at her entrance losing his grasp on his wand which makes her snort in further agitation. "You certainly look busy to me. Besides, I thought we were supposed to keep magic a secret. I could've been anyone." Her tone bites as she prowls further into his room, casting a brief glance to his dolls all neatly lined in shelves in boxes that eye her back.

His gaze hardens to steel as he moves to lower his wand to his desk. "I had plenty of time to finish my work before taking a break. And I only really have to worry about Max and he's easy enough to keep things from." He tells her, voice just short of cutting like glass shards. "What about you? Shouldn't you be perfecting the light spell?" His eyes narrow on her.

She turns her head away to his straightened sheets as her lips purse. "I got distracted," she admits almost against her will.

"Let me guess. Another Ten-Minute Sale? _Typical Alex."_

When her throat tightens and a sting begins to build behind her eyes, Alex feels a nauseating shock at her body's reaction to her brother's tone: _Disappointment_. Justin is well and truly disappointed in her. He's been angry, frustrated, and annoyed with her through all her antics, but he's never been disappointed in her. He knows her too well to know where she's coming from.

So when the tears threaten to spill and the tension in the room borders on choking, Alex forces everything back with a snarl, knowing Justin doesn't have a good reason to feel the way he does. "I wasn’t distracted because of some sale! I was distracted because you _left!"_

Her voice rings in her ears for a second longer while she takes in the stunned look that pales Justin's face. _Ugh, honesty hurts too much_ , she decides spinning to face the exit in a wish to leave—which strangely hurts more.  

"Wait, Alex! _Wait!"_ Justin rushes to barricade himself in front of the door looking frazzled as his eyes search her face for something only he can find. "That's not—that can’t be true." He starts strong only to fade into a soft resolute tone that makes that place in her chest she usually ignores ache. "You don't need me."

Breathing in slowly, Alex attempts to reclaim the balance of things even if for once she needs to be the one to help Justin find his footing again. Closing the gap between them she reaches up with a softened version of her mischievous smile and tugs on his ear causing him to whine while rubbing the pink appendage. "Do you hear yourself now? Of course I need you!" Then digging way down deep and scraping the bottom for some honesty, she tells him, "I was actually... kind of... nervous about whether I could make a wand at first, until I felt you by my side."

The smile that blooms across his face at this is seriously too sweet, like kittens and puppies tumbling around together in a flower dotted field. Her brother is too innocent.

Alex refuses to admit the blush that warms her cheeks as a result, instead coughing to cover it up as she hurries on in a nonchalant voice, "You've been at this for two years and I'm new to this. But once I get the hang of it I'm going to spell circles around you!" She crosses her arms and smirks with a twinkle in her eyes feeling her point has certainly been made.

Justin however bites his lip around a grin and shakes his head. "You're right. But don't think I plan to go easy on you when the time comes." Straightening up he eyes her, stare shifting to something more critical. "Alex, I'm so—"

"Buh, buh, buh!" She waves her hand in front of his face shushing him so she can speak over him. "You can't go apologizing when you were the one who was looking like a kicked puppy before! So there."

Now he scrunches his eyebrows looking all confused. "There what?"

She rolls her eyes at his cluelessness—and he's supposed to be the smart one. "I apologized. Duh.”

Justin's laughter rolls outwards warm and content and she feels pleased all the way to her bones. "Okay, Alex. And I'm sorry for not being there earlier." He snags her hand in an easy grip and the zing that curls through her veins at the connection is like finding her way home. "Let me make it up to you by helping you with the spell?" He asks equal parts eager and hopeful.

She grins. "You better."

~*~

"You feel it?" His voice is a low calm right beside her.

"It" would be the howling winds twisting inside her not unlike the chaos present in a storm, the sparks that crackle in her veins growing and shrinking in intensity to the wave of the storm. And of course the cool thrum of his hand in hers that braves the maelstrom within her and gives her an outlet to focus on.

"Yeah," she breathes just as quiet.

"What does it feel like?"

She clicks her tongue against her teeth. "A growing hurricane."

"That bad, huh?" She can only imagine the grin on his face from the cheeky tone he uses and it makes her smile a bit unabashedly. He gives her hand a squeeze. "Well I'm going to need you to focus that storm in the palm of your hand. When you can do that, say the words, okay?"

She doesn't answer, simply allowing her actions to be her response. There's a lot within her just under her skin. Lightning seems to strike without control, the tips of her fingers always buzzing with a need to release it. Justin seems to be a great conductor, his magic calm and crisp against hers like a lazy winter day in front of the hearth. But she needs to be able to control her magic on her own and forces the winds to contort like a wound spring, the lightning refusing to strike until she speaks.

_"Give me sight, appear to me light."_

Alex knows something has happened when the tingling in her veins rises above the surface. Upon opening her eyes she observes the glowing orb of light, pearly white and gleaming in every direction.  

"You did it." Justin's tone glows as bright as her light.

Alex bumps her shoulder into his preening at the praise. "With your help." She allows while letting her power drift inwards and extinguish the light. Magic is well and truly apart of her—and already her mind is conjuring up ideas of how she can use it in the future.

"That was all you. I just pushed you in the right direction." His voice smooth from prepubescent cracking—has he noticed and celebrated over it yet?—and lower than she remembers it draws an inkling of something from her mind.

“Say Justin? When your powers came in did you have any weird dreams?” Alex peers at him closely from her spot beside him on his bed for answers.

His spine stiffens and he keeps a rigid look ahead. “I, uh, yeah? But I don’t remember much of them. I think dad said something about being able to glimpse bits of your future.”

 _The future?_ Well, all she can recall is her voice and Justin’s, so that just means she and her dorky brother are still close.

He untangles their hands and Alex notices a weight tug his posture downwards as he lets out a drawn out breath. She spots the indent between his brows and the crease beside his mouth and thinks back to how he had something to say earlier, but held back.

"Go ahead and say what's in that big brain of yours, Justin," she prods.

His eyes look like a blue sky in winter as he hesitantly meets her gaze. "Well dad was only half right when referring to our wands. When using our magic together we'd actually make a remarkable team."

 _Of course that's what he'd be over thinking about_. Alex rolls her eyes and backhands his arm with a grin. "Don't be ridiculous."

Justin lowers his head, voice croaking, "Oh."

She continues as if he hadn't reacted. "I may taunt you and tease you and make your life miserable, but that's my job as your sister. But underneath it all you're my best friend. We're always going to be a team."  

Justin's breath hitches and she pulls him into a hug—before he can do something ridiculous like cry—her head resting against his checkered button down as he wraps her in a tight hold. "And you’re supposed to be the smart one. I guess it helps that I'm here to remind you of the simply stuff, huh?"

He rests his head atop of hers with a thoughtful hum that vibrates right through to her content heart. "I wouldn't have it any other way."

 


End file.
